Monday, December 03, 2012

Tucked away in this Sports Business Daily article about Fox’s ongoing quest to amass an empire of regional sports networks is this nugget, concerning Fox’s attempts to buy MASN, the network that broadcasts Orioles and Nationals games, from Orioles owner Peter Angelos:

Guess the Nats/Orioles territorial rights squabble isn’t over after all.

Reader Comments and Retorts

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Lerner and Angelos are two tough guys, and both really tough negotiators. Look, it was a mess letting another team come into the market - this isn't like the old days when we're only talking ticket sales, and Angelos knew it. He also knew that if MLB was going to let the Nats come in, that he was going to insure his own franchise the best way he knew how...and MLB and the Nats agreed to it.

So the bed is there, now everyone has to lay in it. Bud would love the buyout because it takes away the potential messes down the road that are certain to occur - but that's not likely to happen while Angelos is alive. But that's not going to be much longer.

Still, I do find it annoying (although human nature) for the complaints over 'unfair treatment' to keep coming back up - as if a team moving in 40 miles away wasn't 'unfair' to the Orioles.

It isn't so cut and dry as to say they made their bed and now they have to lay in it. Under the contract the Nationals are allowed to renegotiate their fees this season. The problem is that apparently it was written so vaguely there is no solution within the contract to settle. There was no instructions on how to proceed in the renegotiations.

It does look like the commissioner might have the power to resolve this since he put together a 3 team panel to resolve the issue and they apparently are stalling on coming to the conclusion in the hopes that the teams resolves this on their own which is where Fox comes in. Fox has the deep pockets to pay both the Orioles and Nationals for their rights fees and give Angelos a huge pile of cash to purchase MASN from him.

Those that take the position that it is somehow fair that Angelos controls the Nationals TV broadcasts certainly shouldn't have any qualms about enforcing the requirement that he pay fair market value for that privilege.

The Orioles rightly own the windfall they received when the Senators moved!

As I said earlier, this is a different day. There isn't a team in MLB that wouldn't be wounded severely if someone tried to move within 40 miles of their home base. Of course, those situations currently exist, but no one would accept someone NEW trying to do it today, not without some major concessions.

Yes, McCoy, I'm aware of the 'renegotiation clause', but as you point out, it's still a messy bed to lay in when there is no ground rules for reneotiation.

'Okay, it's time to renegotiate.'

'Okay. I'll give you an extra dollar and a half. Take it or leave it.'

We're talking about baseball owners here, right? The guys who plead poverty, won't open their books? 'Fair market value' all depends on whose figures you choose to believe. Guess whose figures will always be the lesser - the guy controlling the current deal, or the guy wanting a bigger slice of the pie.

(Of course, all these numbers are insane, anyway, except for cable fees. I don't know why advertisers even bother with sports any more. Thanks to the DVR, I haven't watched an ad on a sporting event in years.)

(Of course, all these numbers are insane, anyway, except for cable fees. I don't know why advertisers even bother with sports any more. Thanks to the DVR, I haven't watched an ad on a sporting event in years.)

Most people watch sporting events live, and don't skip over the ads - basically sports is the type of show that is least affected by DVR use. That's why sports tv rights value is soaring right now.

That isn't an accurate reading of the TV rights provisions. It'd be more accurate to say that both MLB & the Orioles have a fiduciary duty toward their partner, the Washington Nationals, when setting the fair market value for the TV rights.

Most people watch sporting events live, and don't skip over the ads - basically sports is the type of show that is least affected by DVR use. That's why sports tv rights value is soaring right now.

I don't watch network TV at all except for sports...I'm disciplined enough to start watching an event (especially baseball) about 45 min to an hour after it starts so I can skip all that stuff. As much as I love baseball, I can't imagine spending every night from 7:30 till 10:30 watching a game when I can start it at 9 and finish at 11. I watched the Giants-Skins live last night because I'm a Skins fan and wanted to text with buddies watching...I managed about 15 minutes before I found the Keaton-Nicholson 'Batman' on cable and started switching to it during breaks.